


these kids (they lost their graces)

by crickets



Category: Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-14
Updated: 2012-06-14
Packaged: 2017-11-07 23:19:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/436543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crickets/pseuds/crickets





	these kids (they lost their graces)

The hitchhiker is with them almost day and a half before Caroline complains of the scent of patchouli and body odor. She and Stefan have rotated shifts at the wheel, and neither of them have slept since they picked him up outside of Princeton, but the hippy, who calls himself Ziggy, hasn’t noticed their preternatural stamina. This is mostly because he’s been snoozing in the back seat the majority of the time, but also because he seems pretty out of it in general, even when he’s awake.

She hates picking up hitchhikers.

“It’s indecent,” she grumbles when they stop at the only service station for miles. Stefan, who apparently has a soft-spot for world-weary loners with dirty fingernails and worn-out boots, makes his best attempt at rolling his eyes before Caroline elbows him in the ribs. She begins listing off the reasons they need to ditch Ziggy sooner rather than later. “He talks about himself in the third person. He’s obviously on some kind of hallucinogenic. _And_ he smells,” she says as she turns the pout up a few notches, easing onto her tiptoes to reach a bag of Funyuns hidden behind a display of Doritos. “Besides,” she waves the bag in his direction, "I’m hungry. And these are sadly not going to cut it.”

" _Caroline_ ," Stefan says her name in that way of his, like he's reeling her in, like he's amused but not having any of it today, thank you very much. It's the amused part that curls up the ends of her lips. Stefan catches that glint in her eye and knows he's made a mistake. "No," he shakes his head seriously, and sighs when Caroline, undeterred, gives a little hop. "No," he says again.

Caroline winks, drops her voice low. " _Yes_."

-

Ziggy's blood burns the back of her throat and drips down her chin.

Stefan watches from the corner of the room, his eyes trained on her, his mouth stained red.

" _God_ ," Caroline says, clumsily stepping over Ziggy, who's not dead, just asleep, and making her way to Stefan. She leans over him, a half-sigh, half-satisfied groan at the back of her mouth. "These drugs are _fucking_ amazing."

Stefan pushes her hair back, one red thumb leaving a streak from the corner of her lips to the back of her jaw. "You're fucking amazing," he says, and jerks her into his lap. Caroline lets out a laugh, her head thrown back, because Stefan doesn't swear, and Stefan definitely doesn't feed and fuck. ( _Usually_.) And Caroline's nipples are hard when his fangs scrape her neck, and she barely has enough wits about her to ask about the half-dead guy bleeding on the motel room floor before Stefan pulls her shirt over her head.

"Let him sleep," he growls into her mouth.

Caroline grinds her hips against his and doesn't argue; gift horse, mouth, all that.

 _Stefan grins_.

-

They plan to drop Ziggy off near Salt Lake, a little over halfway to his destination and about as far as they were planning to go before traveling north again. Caroline teases about compelling him to become a "capitalist scumbag douche bag," _Ziggy's words_ , not hers.

Stefan says her name in that way again, but this time it's Caroline who gives in.

"Fine," she crosses her arms, faking indignant. "Ruin all my fun."

He casts a sideways glance at her from the driver's seat, letting a silent pause linger between them.

"Not _all_ ," he says after a beat, dragging out the last word.

Caroline's cheeks flush, and he's right of course, but she covers by balling up an empty straw paper and tossing it at his head. Stefan catches it between his fingers, and throws it back at her.

Caroline laughs.

_Ziggy sits in the back seat, docile, clueless, and happy._

_-fin_


End file.
